When ChevronTexaco announced its purchase of Unocal on April 4th, Arnold Watch noted
that the purchase was a bet that Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) would
eventually be a major energy source for California and that Arnold
would be its pitchman. (Particularly given Schwarzenegger Chief of
Staff Pat Clarey’s role as former Chevron lobbyist and the $222,200 the
company has already invested in Arnold’s political prospects.) Well,
campaign finance reports now show that four days after the Unocal
acquisition – on April 8th – Chevron dumped another $50,000 into the
Team Arnold initiative fund, the misnamed "Citizens to Save California
Committee." Yesterday, Chevron purchased two LNG carriers from South
Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries to support growth in Chevron’s LNG
business. "This latest commitment provides ChevronTexaco with a
flexible and competitive means of transportation to underpin the
company’s LNG growth strategies," said ChevronTexaco global gas
president John Gass. The same could be said for ChevronTexaco’s
continued investment in Arnold and his ability to turn around his
plummeting approval rating.